Comedy doc to film Sunday at Sinking Ship

Sunday Night Stand Up featuring Ryan Singer and Jarrod Harris

Sunday, Jan. 6, 9 p.m. @ The Sinking Ship,
4923 N. College Ave.

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Jarrod Harris, by the bridge.

Jarrod Harris is on his fourth RV. "I've had vans too," says the Redondo Beach-
based comedian, who's been described by Creative Loafing as achieving "an oddly
comfortable mix of trailer-park filth, comic angst, and hipster irony."

"Lived in a van for about three years when I started doing comedy," Harris
continues. "I loved every minute of it too. An RV was just a step up; it's a
Cummings turbo diesel pusher. Engine is in the back. Glides like a cloud and purrs
like a kitty; this is way more comfortable."

Harris's RV is central to a project being launched by him and his tourmate Ryan
Singer: a feature documentary called Organic, being filmed as you read this article
in clubs around the Midwest. The two comedians, each of whom has put in eleven
years in the comedy scene, are looking to document their experiences on the road,
thereby shining a light on the tight-knit alternative comedy scene that's finding life
in spaces like The Sinking Ship, the Northside punk-ish bar that'll host Singer and
Harris this Sunday.

"Vibrant, organic comedy scenes have sprung up all around the country and have
been the life support system for comedians," says Singer, recently selected as a
"Comic Who Should Be Big" by Rolling Stone and a frequent opener for podcast
star Marc Maron. "These scenes are all uniquely driven by the love of standup
comedy by the comedians who live there. This tour will showcase the freedom
of the art form these venues allow and the people who have unwittingly created
a place for comedians to come into their own before breaking through to the next
level."

Singer and Harris aren't operating the equipment alone: "The road for a month
straight, with filming all the time, I worry a bit about the crew," Singer says. "They
are doing the hard work. I hope we can keep them happy and glad they chose to be
a part of the experience."

But neither comic seems particularly daunted by the miles, and Harris has a ready
plan for how to divvy up driving duties: "I think whoever weirds the least people
out at the show that night should be forced to drive more the next day."

The Sinking Ship - where for nearly two years standup host Cam O'Connor and
company have brought burgeoning comics and new fans together - is the tour's
second stop.

"The room is unique because it's in a very cool bar filled with open minded
individuals," says O'Connor. "Now there is a culture in the building on Sundays
where the show is respected, and comics love performing there. We've had so
many fantastic comedians. The crowd gets good comedy, so they realize that it's
in their best interest to listen and pay attention. Our show is closer to comedy club
quality, while still allowing creative freedom."

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Ryan Singer enjoys plant life.

The weekly show was created to give local comics an opportunity for more stage
time. But O'Connor says it soon became something more: neutral ground at a time
when comics had to choose one club or the other to play (Crackers or Morty's), or
risk becoming persona non grata in both. And though it's become easier in recent
months for comics to work both rooms, The Sinking Ship contiues to be a place
for comics from both clubs to do shows together and to meet emerging talent from
around the country.

The word gets around, according to O'Connor: "These great comics came and
did amazing shows that won over the crowds that were there, and the people
told people, and the comics went home and told other comics about this show in
Indiana."

O'Connor's list of favorite shows includes previous gigs by both Singer and Harris:
"Meeting your heroes is priceless. Booking a comic that makes me laugh and
gathering people to see them perform is really something."

And Singer returns the affection: "I love the Ship. The energy and the fun that
room provides is ridiculous. Some venues, some comedy rooms just feel like
magic from the start and I think the Ship is one of those places. Cam has done
such a great job of making it a place where comedy can thrive, it is wonderful. I
love Indianapolis, too. Since I started in Dayton, Indy has always been close and I
would visit open mics there when I was first starting out. It was a critical comedy
city in my development. The Ship is a place that I have specifically chosen in the
past to polish and explore my comedy knowing how wonderful of an environment
it is to grow the wildest of bits."

As for Organic, plans are still up in the air, but Harris knowns one thing for sure:
"Personally I want the film to give younger comics some inspiration. Basically let
them know that they can do this stuff too. As for the shape it takes, I guess that's
just gonna have to be seen in post production."

"There is going to be over a hundred hours of footage, is my guess, and that
could take months to go through and edit together. I hope that we have this out by
sometime early 2014," says Singer. "I hope the film is entertaining and funny, and
also shows a side of standup comedy that no other documentary has shown before.
It is a really exciting time to be a part of standup comedy right now."

[<>Correction, Jan. 4: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this story misattributed a quote spoken by Jarrod Harris to Ryan Singer (in paragraph four), and a quote spoken by Singer to Harris (paragraph five).]